Halcon 2012

This past weekend, I had the pleasure of attending Halcon 2012, the third in this new series of sci-fi/comic based conventions in Halifax.  Due to one thing and another, I couldn't attend from behind a table this time, but with the proverbial cloud's silver lining, this meant that I was free to wander and enjoy the con as an attendee instead of having to worry about table setup and sales pitches.
I only went on Sunday this year, which meant that I missed the costume contest, one of the real highlights of the show.  Still, if the costumes I saw on Sunday were any indication, the contest must have been tough to judge.  It's always amazing how much work people put into making these things, and they seem to be getting better with each year.

This steampunk "Wild Wild West" tribute was probably the costume highlight for me.  With the amount of detail and creativity that went into this, they looked like they just walked off the movie set.  I heard mutterings about a mechanical spider for next year; that's about the only way they could top this.

 

Of course, HALO had to get its representation, and this pair represented it well with what must have been a year long project to create these incredibly detailed costumes.

And what would a sci-fi con be without a Dalek or two?

 

Taking cosplay to the next level is the Society for Creative Anachronism and their combat sessions.  To give an idea of how intimidating these guys are in person....I'm 6'4", but that guy against the back wall on the right towers about 4" over me.  Not someone I'd want to meet on a battlefield.

As impressive for me as the costumes are the miniatures and models.  Take this scale model Millenium Falcon for example.  This photo doesn't do justice to the amount of detail the builder put into this thing.  It's about two feet wide, with obsessive attention paid to not just the details of the ship, but the textures of the materials.  George Lucas would be proud to own this thing.

  

I'm not sure who this guy is supposed to be (but it reminds me of a character from Ricardo Delgado's "Hieroglyph"), but it was an impressive figure, and an interesting counterpoint to the more mechanical pieces surrounding it.



My day at Hal-Con started off right with a presentation on "How to Survive a Zombie Apocalypse".  Informative and entertaining, with bonus machetes!  In the photo above, presenter Alex Hall shares a moment with Twilight's Kristen Stewart (actually her cardboard understudy) before getting busy on her with his zombie killing weapons.  She might be pretty, but Bella is still one of the undead, so don't be fooled.

Here, my Whovian daughter has the high point of her day as Nicholas "Exterminate" Briggs autographs a photo of her in last year's Dalek costume.  Mr. Briggs is, among other roles on the series, the voice of the Dalek's in the newest incarnations of Doctor Who.  This is a clear sign of the growth of Hal-Con that they can now fly in guest like this and (barely visible just to his left) "Lord of the Rings" star John Rhys-Davies.



Or this fellow, barely recognizable as more than a blob due to my low-rez camera and poor photography skills.  That's Rene Auberjonois, best known to current genre fans as Odo of "Deep Space Nine", although fondly remembered by me as the stuffy Clayton Runnymede Endicott III from "Benson".



I was also pleased to get the chance to talk briefly once again with Scream Queen Debbie Rochon, and purchase this signed trading card from her table.  Debbie is the star of one of my favorite Lovecraftian films, "The Colour From the Dark", a loose adaptation of "The Colour Out of Space".   I think she embraces and embodies the culture of B-movie horror in a way I've not seen since Linnea Quigley and Brinke Stevens in the '80's.

Of course, for me, the highlight of this, or any, con, is the swag I get from Artist's Alley.  That's where you really get to meet and connect with creative people.  It's part networking opportunity, part fanboy heaven.  




The highlight of the artist tables this year was Marvel legend Larry Hama.  Although he was too busy to really chat, I was able to get him to sign a short stack of comics that have long been treasures of my collection.  Now, of course, they've gained much more value for me for having passed through the hands of their creator. 



Even though he's local, and I've occasionally seen him just hanging out at the comic shop, it was still great to see Darwyn Cooke, and get him to sign a couple of Parker books.  These are my favorite of Darwyn's works, and I'm proud to say that I've had all the books in this series so far autographed and/or sketched by him.  His work is deceptively simple in the tradition of artist like Will Eisner, and he really seems to be most at home with the writing of Donald Westlake (aka Richard Stark).





Did I mention Darwyn Cooke was there?




Oh yeah...and, Darwyn.  See what I mean about the fanboyishness?

I have a small sketchbook that I carry with me to cons like this, and over the past few years, I've collected work from a number of personal favorites.  Drawings by Ty Templeton, Richard Comely, Jim Craig, the aforementioned Darwyn Cooke, and others grace the pages as it slowly fills in to completion.  Making a significant contribution to the roster this year was Men in Black co-creator, and cover artist to our own "Brutal Blade of Bruno the Bandit" Vol. 3, Sandy Carruthers.  I had a good, long chat with Sandy about his work and comics in general.  He says he's really enjoyed the Bruno stories he's read, and had fun working on our cover.  We were happy to have him, and I was just as happy to have him do this original piece for me, featuring a character of his own creation that I hope to see in print someday soon.

Not to be overlooked, cover artist for Brutal Blade Vol. 2, Geof Isherwood, was also in attendance.  As usual, Geof was just rocking the sketches and had some prints and originals for sale that were just mind-blowingly good.  I was also lucky enough to grab a preview copy of an upcoming book he's worked on, "Heroes of the North".  As you can tell from the cover above, we've got some Canadian superhero goodness to look forward to from this great artist.

 

Speaking of Canadian content, Nova Scotia's own Mark Oakley was also in attendance.  I seem to be making an unofficial mission of getting every obscure work by this creator autographed, as seen by the rarities pictured above, Mythography #1 and Blip, both from the defunct Bardic Press.  By the way, if anyone has a copy of Mythography #2, I'd love to get my hands on it, as it apparently contains a never reprinted short story by Mark that I'd like to read.

Finally, after two years of trying, I managed to track down the elusive (to me, anyway) Connor McCreery, co-creator of "Kill Shakespeare", the comic for English majors everywhere.  Connor is a very engaging person to speak with, and is very enthusiastic about this book, in which he's helped create a layered yet accessible story that deserves the praise it's received all around.

As usual, there were plenty of small press people represented as well.  I always enjoy picking up the odd books that I find with as yet undiscovered talent.  Some of them go on to greater things, some are never heard from again. Either way, they make great additions to my increasingly eclectic collection.  For example, there's this book, "Manga Ganda", an odd anthology of work that has some very interesting art in it.  Unfortunately, I can't recall the name of the person I bought it from, although I did give him my contact info.  So, I hope he'll contact me soon so I can update this page with his info.

To close out, but certainly not meant to be least, there's this piece by New Brunswick artist Danica Brine.  I've picked up a couple of prints from Danica, and am really enjoying her crisp, clear style.  The lovely creature pictured here is from her forthcoming zombie comic, "Pandemic".  If this is anything to judge by, it should be worth a look.

Hal-Con, or any con, is different experience depending on which side of the table you're on.  While I enjoyed spending more time meeting the other creative people, I did miss being behind the sketchbook, meeting the fans and promoting AIM Comics.  I'm definitely going to have to put a push on to get myself better organized for next year so that I can be back behind the table where I belong.  The good news is that Hal-Con seems to be continuing to grow, which means I should be able to look forward to many opportunities to participate.  Hope to see you all in 2013!

Bad News, Good News...

OK, first the bad news...
It looks like I won't be able to attend Hal-Con this year, at least not from behind an artist table.  I mean, I suppose technically I could, but in order to do so I would have to spend money that I really shouldn't spend right now, and rush some things that really shouldn't be rushed.  So, rather than do a halfway job of it and have my work suffer in the long run, I've opted to take a pass on this year's con and try to ramp it up for next year.
I'll still be attending as a patron, and you'll probably see a report of it, with photos, in this space in early November, so stay tuned for that.

Now the good news:  the pages for the first issue of "The Journals of Simon Pariah" are just about ready to send to the printers/distributors.  I know I've promised this before, but this time I'm certain that I'm about 95% done.  I could probably send the book out as it is, but this is one of those things that I mentioned earlier about not wanting to rush.  There's one page, one fairly important page, that I'm not satisfied with and want to redraw a bit.  Once that's done, the book will be on its way and ready to order shortly thereafter.  Look for it in October.

Of course, while you're waiting, you could check out a copy of Brutal Blade of Bruno the Bandit.  We've got three of them out now, all of them with some pretty stellar work.  Hit the links on the sidebar for our various stores and give it a try.  Frankly, each copy sold will go a little further to helping me put together a decent presentation for next year's Hal-Con.

Halcon 2011

Halcon 2011 is done like dinner!  I do believe a good time was had by all.  I know I had a great time, doing sketches, hanging out with Ian McDonald at the AIM Comics table, meeting Bruno the Bandit fans, and schmoozing with guys like Sandy Carruthers and Geof Isherwood.  We sold some books, gave away a bunch of Journals of Simon Pariah ashcans, and saw some great costumes. Really, it's all I could have wanted from an event like this, and I can't wait until I get a chance to do it again.
I've uploaded a bunch of photos to my Facebook page here, and there's some more great ones available via the Halcon Twitter feed here.  Meantime, a few highlights of the event were...

Daughter #1 being interviewed in her homemade Dalek costume. She got a very positive response for this, and is now featured in a ton of photographs.  She couldn't move 5 feet without being stopped for a photo.

Daughter #2 being interviewed in her Weeping Angel costume.  This one was much simpler to make, but we must have done a good job, because she took second place in the Junior category of the costume contest.

Snagged myself a copy of "Antiquitas Lost", the new book by Robert Louis Smith and illustrator Geof Isherwood (cover artist of Brutal Blade of Bruno the Bandit vol. 2), and got to meet both creators and have them sign the book.  At first glance, the art for this book is easily on par with Wrightson's work on "Frankenstein", and that impression was reinforced by getting the chance to see some of the originals.  Amazing stuff, and I'm looking forward to digging into this book.

 The first volume of "Superhero Girl", a collection of webcomics self-published by Faith Erin Hicks.  My daughter is a bit of a fan of Faith's and picked up this book and had her sketch/sign it.  I read it this morning on a whim, and was pleased to find that Faith continues to impress with each new idea she launches.  This is an interesting take on superheroes that doesn't revolve around people punching each other in the face.  Great reading for kids of all ages.

I had a chance to talk briefly with Debbie Rochon, horror movie actress, and star of the excellent Lovecraftian film "Colour Out of the Dark".  She's an interesting person to talk to, and I enjoyed getting a bit of an insider's perspective on horror film making.  Debbie runs a regular column over at Fangoria that I'm going to have to start paying more attention to.

I didn't get as much of a chance as last year to get around and talk with people, but I did have some memorable interactions and enjoyed seeing things from behind the table this year.  Be sure to check out the Hal-Con site for more photos and event details, and maybe I'll see you at next year's event!

Brutal Blade Vol. 2 Now Available for Kindle! plus Hal-Con Update

At long last, "The Brutal Blade of Bruno the Bandit" Vol. 2 is now available for Kindle.  For just $3.99, you can get this great collection of strips and art to read on your Kindle, desktop or any mobile device running the Kindle app (I'm partial to having it on my Android phone myself, but to each their own).  Click here to go to the book's Amazon US page, or search "Brutal Blade" on Amazon to find this and all our other editions of Brutal Blade, volumes 1 and 2. 
As with the Kindle edition of the first book, I'm offering a special discount to one reader.  The first person to purchase the Kindle edition and email me a receipt will receive a refund of 125% of the purchase price - that's $5.00 for you non-mathematicians - via Paypal.  The only condition is that in your email you have to give me your opinion of how the book looks on your device.  Not owning a Kindle myself, I'd like to know how the formatting appears on other devices.  So drop me a line and earn some cash back.

In other news, it's less than two weeks to Hal-Con.  Between one thing and another, I'm busy trying to get everything ready.  That includes preparing banners, books (see below), posters and other items that will be available at our table.
If you're in the Halifax area, drop by Artist Alley and say hello to Ian and myself.  We'll both be showing off our work, and doing sketches, and there will be copies of both volumes of Brutal Blade available for your enjoyment.  Also, don't forget that cover artist for volume 2, Geof Isherwood, will be in attendance at his own table, and I'm sure you'll be able to hit him up to sign your copy as well.  We're looking forward to meeting any Bruno fans out there, and maybe making a few new ones while we're at it.  See you there!

Hal-Con 2011 Here We Come!

It's a bit early in the year for this, but I'm just so pleased about this that I can't restrain myself.  AIM Comics will be hosting a table in Artist's Alley at Hal-Con 2011.  I've plunked down my deposit, so it must be official!

Not only will I be attending this one myself, but I've somehow managed to cajole the illustrious Ian McDonald, author of our flagship title, "The Brutal Blade of Bruno the Bandit" (get your copy today!) to fly in to town to join me for the event. 
Ian will be signing copies of "Bruno" and we'll both be doing sketches....and if you don't have your copy of "Brutal Blade" yet, don't worry:  we'll be bringing some with us. 

Hal-Con 2011 is at the World Trade & Convention Centre in Halifax, November 12 & 13, 2011.  Judging by last year's event, it will be a tremendously fun time, not to be missed by any fan of sci-fi, fantasy or comics.  If you attend, please be sure to drop by and say hello, get a book signed or just chat with us a bit.  It'll be great to meet you!

Halcyon Halcon Part II

For the first part of my writeup on Halcon 2010, focusing mostly on the costumes seen that day, see this post.

As much as I enjoyed the costumes and sci-fi trappings of Halcon, the best part of the weekend, for me, was Artist's Alley. I think I spent more time stalking this area than I did in the rest of the event put together. Not only did I get some fantastic new reading material, and make some great additions to my ever-growing collection of signed comics, but I also had several talented artists graciously make contributions to my sketchbook.
I was, at first, somewhat disappointed that the "big names" that were scheduled for the weekend did not show up. Frankly, I had wanted to attend mainly because I thought I was going to meet such luminaries as Joe Jusko, Mark Texeira and Mike Golden, and nearly went in search of a refund when I found out that they'd canceled.
Fortunately, the appeal of spending a weekend hanging out in a comfortable environment with my fellow geeks won out, and led to me meeting some talented local creators.
Almost de rigeur for an event like this are local icons Mark "Thieves & Kings" Oakley and Faith Erin Hicks (of Zombies Calling and The War at Ellsmere fame). Faith's new graphic novel "Brain Camp" is just out from First Second books, and while I haven't read it yet, if it's anything like her previous efforts, it will be worth your time and attention.

Mark's latest effort is  "Star Drop", a digest sized collection of newspaper strips about a stranded space princess.  It's as much of a visual treat as any of Mark's work, with a story that's light and airy, with a surprising amount of emotional depth.  I think I've got a Mark Oakley sketch on nearly everything he's published at this point; he's fast becoming my most collected artist.

A pleasant surprise for me at this event was my introduction to the work of graphic novelist Caanan Grall, author of "Celadore" from Zuda Comics.  I haven't finished it yet, but this graphic novel promises to be enjoyable.  The only downside I've seen so far is that the quality of paper used for this printing doesn't do justice to Grall's eye for color.  His palette perfectly complements his art style and manages to be bright without being garish.

Caanan, to whom I owe thanks for a great Batman & Robin at a tea party sketch, by the way, also has a webcomic, Max Overacts, over at Occasional Comics.  Anyone who's ever been a fan of  "Calvin and Hobbes" is strongly urged to check it out.

The last big con I attended was back in 2000 in Toronto, at which I had the pleasure of meeting the co-creator of the original "Men in Black" comic and Captain Canuck artist, Sandy Carruthers.  I'm pleased to say he was in attendance at this event as well, and this time I was privileged to have him create a Captain Canuck drawing for me.  The good Captain was one of the first comic books I remember reading, so it's nice to have some work by someone who worked on the actual character.  Of course, his drawing is almost side by side with one from the Captain's creator, Richard Comely, so it's in good company.
Sandy is currently the artist on the "Twisted Journeys" series of graphic novels, the first "choose your own adventure" comic books I've ever seen.  I do not envy him the task of figuring out the art on these.

Of course, no local comics related event would be complete without the presence of some people from my (and the world's) favorite comic shop, Strange Adventures.  Not content to be some of the best and most knowledgeable salespeople in comics, the employees of the stores are some very talented people in their own right.
Dave Howlett, who's done quite a lot of comics projects in the time I've known him, contributed a fine looking Darkseid to my sketchbook.  Dave's current project, SlamARama, can be found a Tuco Comics, and is the best, no holds barred, best two falls out of three wrasslin' action to be found in comics.

Meanwhile, not to be outdone by his coworker, the artist known only as "Ben" is a fantastic character designer, as can be seen at his blog, The Second to Last Picture Show.   Thanks, Ben, for the martini-swilling Demon you sketched for me.

I think my most embarrassing moment of the weekend came when I met Andrew Power...simply because I had waited around his table for quite a while believing he was someone completely different who I had previously met.  I'm sure I must have looked like a stalker or other species of freak, but in spite of my weirdness, he favored me with a rockin' sketch of his character Rina Wu from his comic "Aptitude Test", which can be read here.  Thanks, Andrew...I'm not crazy, I promise.  Well, mostly not crazy.

One of the great things about a con like this is that I get to meet other creators who are trying to kickstart their own books, like most of those mentioned above, or like Rich Morris, creator of "Yet Another Fantasy Gamer Comic".  This is a fun strip aimed square at the D&D players in the audience, although my younger daughter took enough of a shine to it that she started drawing her own renditions of the Beholder, so make of that what you will.  I had a great time talking to Rich and Hilary about not only their book, but about marketing and self-publishing in general.  I'll probably be swapping more ideas with them in the near future, so don't be surprised to hear their names pop up again sometime.

When all is said and done, though, the big surprise of the weekend (for me, anyway, although it might not have been had I been paying closer attention) was the release of Darwyn Cooke's second adaptation from the Parker novels of Donald Westlake, "The Outfit".

I started reading Donald Westlake (aka Richard Stark for the purposes of the Parker series) shortly after the author's death on a recommendation from Spider Robinson via his Spider on the Web podcast.  I had previously been introduced to his work via the Mel Gibson movie "Payback", but did not really know much about the source material.  Having read some of the books, and having seen as much comic art as I have, I cannot think of any artist who could do a better job of adapting Westlake's writing as perfectly as Cooke has done so far in "The Hunter", "The Man With the Getaway Face" and now "The Outfit".  Even Frank Miller, as much as he it touted as a kingpin of comic noir, would not have been able to capture the essence of Westlake as Cooke has done.  These graphic novels hit with the same rapid flurry pace and knuckle hard intensity of the books from which they're adapted.  The style Cooke uses, the same signature style he has used for books like "New Frontier" and "Catwoman", has a 60's throwback quality while at the same time being fresh and innovative, especially in contrast to the multitude of Miller and Steranko clones who proliferate in crime comics.
I am fortunate to live in close proximity to Darwyn, so that when he releases a new book, I can line up to get a signed copy.  That is why I now have a pair of signed Parker graphic novels and a limited edition portfolio occupying a place of pride in my collection.  It is also why I had the opportunity to see Cooke execute a dead on Green Lantern sketch in less than a dozen lines and under 10 seconds.  This is the kind of thing, deceptively simple yet right on the bullseye, that shows the kind of mastery an artist can achieve.  It's also the kind of thing that give me just enough envy to want to spend more time at the drawing table, which I think is one of the best things I can take away from any art.

There's plenty of other people I met...artists Jay Paulin, Jono Doiron (love that Cat in the Hat poster!), writer Nina Munteanu, the editors of the Airborne anthology of Cape Breton genre fiction, the representatives of DragonFly Studio, and the members of the local chapter of the Society for Creative Anachronism, The Barony of Ruantallan, just to name a few.  I got to take my girls to a thoroughly fun costume contest, attend part of the recording of an episode of "Geeks vs. Nerds", and meet fantasy model Drakaina, about whom I'll post more on my other blog.  In short, it was a whole lot of fun squeezed into a couple of days.  Thanks to the organizers, the volunteers and everyone who worked to make this thing happen.
From the attendance, I'm going to say that this event was a success, which means that if all goes well, we won't have to wait 15 years for the next Halcon.  My biggest hope is that when the next one rolls around, I'll be looking at the event from the other side of the table as I promote what AIM Comics has to offer.  Wish me luck.

Halcyon Halcon

What a weekend!  I spent the better part of the last two days at Halcon, the first big sci-fi/fantasy/comic convention in 15 years.  I got the opportunity to meet a lot of interesting people, see some spectacular costumes and even spread the word of Bruno the Bandit a little.  This is only the second big con I've been to, and I had an amazingly good time.  I'm definitely looking forward to future cons, except that I hope to be seeing things from the other side of the table, as a presenter.

Seen above, the lobby of the Lord Nelson hotel in Halifax, where Halcon 2010 took place.  I think there's bellhops and doormen in desperate need of some self-medication after being inundated by the creme-de-la-geek of the region.  That's what you get for hanging out with business suits all the time...the real world just smacks you in the face, and it's wearing Spidey pyjamas and a Battlestar Galactica cape.

  As might be expected, Doctor Who fans runneth over at an event like this, and there were more bowties and blazers than you could shake a sonic screwdriver at.  There were some very good resemblances, not to mention this Dalek model that was a big attention getter.  "Direct me to guest services, or I will EXTERMINATE!!!"

 

Of course, some people, whether intentional or not, went for a more old-school approach, such as this Cyberman who could have walked right off a Tom Baker set. 

 

Unfortunately Jeremy Bulloch cancelled his appearance, but lest anyone be reminded that they wouldn't know him out of costume if they tripped over him, there was this first-rate Boba Fett who did a bang-up job of imitating the only actor from Star Wars less recognizable than David Prowse.

 

I haven't had the chance yet to find out if this guy won the costume contest, but he certainly deserved to place in the top three for his homemade Iron Man costume.  It was one of those costumes that was so good, it looked like it was bought from a high-end dealer.  Even with his visor raised, he was reminiscent of Tony Stark...except that I don't think the iron Avenger ever required someone to hold up his faceplate for him.  Well, maybe in his more gin-soaked days, but not generally. 

 

My other personal pick for top contenders was this guy, who did such a dead-on Ash, I'm surprised he didn't call me a primitive screwhead and offer to introduce me to his boomstick.

 One of the more creepy costumes of the day....at least intentionally so...was this good steampunk doctor, ready to battle the plague at its worst.  Actually, steampunk was very well represented at this event.  This was my first meeting with real steampunk costumers, and I think the level of detail they put into their costumes is just mind-boggling.  Somehow, a whole generation of mechanical engineers has gone seriously, but interestingly, awry.

 But top marks for creepy for the day has to go to this young lady and her "It's Alive" baby.  This was movie quality stuff, topped off with a truly disturbing pair of contact lenses.  I haven't been so similarly attracted and repelled since the first time I hooked up with a drunk chick in university.

 Just as good as the costumes, for me, were the many craftsmen and artists I met.  Such as this fellow, Robert, who had built a 6' scale model of the Alexei Leonov from "2010".  The detail and the hours of work that went into this job were just outstanding.  Whole sections were articulated around a central steel pipe, and the whole thing disassembles for transport.  The various lights along the length of it are functional, and in comparison with a photo of the original, I was unable to spot even tiny differences.  This man needs a movie contract to pay off his hard work (not to mention his wife's patience).


That's the best of my photos.  I'll be back at another time with some comments on the various creators and artists I met there.